AVX Aircraft is one of the four companies to be awarded a Technology Investment Agreement by the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) in respect of taking forward its Joint Multi-Role (JMR) helicopter design to the next stage. The coaxial design is one of two being...

The UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl) is requesting industry assistance as it searches to develop systems to help keep helicopter crews from being hit by man-operated hostile ground fire. Locating and avoiding ground fire is one of the biggest challenges any helicopter crew can face when flying above an operational environment. Training synthetically, either in a laboratory or in...

Sikorsky has started final assembly on the S-97 Raider prototype after receiving the fuselage structure from Aurora Flight Services on September 20. The composite fuselage structure – which includes a cockpit, cabin and tail cone – is undergoing completions at...

Experts from NASA, FAA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have chosen six companies to participate in the Advanced Composites Project from a list of 20 proposals. The project falls under the Integrated Systems Research Program at NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The...

With three manufacturers who are developing high-speed rotorcraft represented on the panel, the Helitech International 2013 Conference provided an opportunity to gauge the differences in emphasis between the AgustaWestland AW609, Sikorsky’s X2 and Eurocopter’s X3 and their likely effects on the civil market. AgustaWestland AW609 during a 2012 flight test. Photo by Ernie Stephens...

aparker@accessintel.com For anyone who thinks, in this current U.S. climate of budget restrictions, debt ceilings and sequestration, that it’s a waste of time and/or taxpayer money to drop a helicopter for the sake of science, I beg to differ. The results from a recent helicopter fuselage crash test will yield safety advancements for a number of organizations involved with aviation operations. NASA...

The University of Tennessee’s LIFESTAR air medical transport program operates a pair of EC135s, such as the one shown here, and two Bell 407s. They serve Eastern Tennessee and portions of Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Imagine enjoying a nice drive through Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The lush, green trees and Azure blue skies are all around you. But then, you see a...

To many non-aviation types, one helicopter looks just like any other. Usually differences in design can be most obvious to those who spend their lives in and around helicopters. Yet some features and their purpose might be more subtle. “Hinge offset” is one of those features that might not be very notable to most. But it turns out to be one of the more important design considerations, having...

According to Dr. Andrew Black, director and head of analysis at Hawk Intelligence Source Management, Russian manufacturers will produce the largest number of heavy helicopters between 2013 and 2022, followed by Sikorsky, Boeing and NH Industries. Black also warned that established western companies’ market share could also come under threat from new entrants to the world market, including...

During Helitech International 2013 in London, Bell Helicopter formalized a contract with Garmin International to supply its G1000H integrated avionics suite for the as-of-now-named Short Light Single (SLS). The move furthers the relationship between the helicopter OEM and the Olathe, Kan.-based...

Sikorsky autonomous research aircraft (SARA) near the company’s Development Flight Center in Florida. Courtesy of Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft (Helitech Stand E60) will promote its Matrix Technology research program, launched during the summer to develop systems and software that will improve flight safety for all types of VTOL aircraft. Matrix Technology aims to give both rotary and...

London-based Avincis Group (Stand G50) is taking Helitech International 2013 by storm. In addition to teaming with Bristow Group (Stand E80) and CHC to examine safety practices following a CAA review into North Sea offshore operations, the company has reached agreements with helicopter makers AgustaWestland (Stand J60), Bell Helicopter/Textron (Stand E10) and Eurocopter (Stand P30), as well as engine...

A range of international operators agreed on the second day of Helitech International 2013 in London that the certification process stipulated by authorities to allow helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operators to use night vision goggles (NVGs) in Europe needs to be quicker and more streamlined. While all confirmed that safety had to be the main consideration whether operators were conducting...

Reed Exhibitions is taking something of a punt with this year’s Helitech International Exhibition & Conference at the ExCel in London, and rivals will closely scrutinize its figures. Ever since its launch in the 1980s, Europe’s answer to Heli-Expo has made a feature of its low-key, rural setting. First at Redhill in Surrey, where weather played havoc with several days-worth of show-time...

Rotor & Wing International Bureau Chief Andrew Drwiega (shown sitting at far left) chaired the 2011 Helitech Conference, which focused on the role of the offshore wind farm industry. A three-day rotorcraft conference will be one of the main draws at this year’s Helitech (September 24-26), being staged for the first time at the ExCeL in London, UK. It is being run in association with the European...

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